1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to bleeder valves in general, and in particular to an apparatus for cleaning bleeder valves.
2. Description of Related Art
Bleeder valves are widely employed for extracting small samples from a large body of fluids located in a pipe or within a storage tank. For example, a bleeder valve can be utilized to extract samples of fluid passing through a huge pipeline or to remove water from the bottom of a gasoline storage tank. Since the diameters of bleeder valves are usually much smaller than the diameters of pipes with which they are associated, thus they get clogged frequently. For example, bleeder valves designed for removing material from the bottom of a storage tank will get clogged with sediments, and bleeder valves in process lines may get clogged with coke, scale or solid reaction products.
Conventional bleeder valve cleaners allow bleeder valves to be cleaned without any fluid leakage from the bleeder valves. However, bleeder valves are typically placed in locations that are difficult to access, and conventional bleeder valve cleaners are generally not designed to operate in confined spaces. Consequently, it would be desirable to provide an improved apparatus for cleaning bleeder valves.